cvt

The new-for 2017 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid represents the first mainstream attempt to bring hybrid technology to the North American minivan market. Part of what makes the trend-setting minivan so unique is its innovative Si-EVT Hybrid yransmission.

All those letters in the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid tranny nomenclature stand for Single-input (Si) Electronically Variable Transaxle (EVT), which tells you a few things right off the bat. Namely, that there’s a single power input and that it features some sort of CVT that uses electronics, rather than inertia/rpm alone, to select its gear ratios. Which, I mean, those are fine things to know if you want a basic overview of the van Kyle considered calling “perfect” when he wrote about it earlier this month- but if you’re a tech nerd (and I’m a tech nerd), you might find yourself wanting more.

That’s what this hour-plus long deep dive from Weber State University’s automotive technology department comes in. You can get into the hows and why’s of the new Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid transmission is all about, and how it contributes to the van’s awesome 84 MPGe fuel economy rating, below. Enjoy!

2017 Chrysler Pacifica Si-EVT Hybrid Transaxle

The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Si-EVT Hybrid Transaxle – A Video Deep Dive into the components, service and operation of the Chrysler Single Input Electronic Variable Transaxle (Si-EVT) transaxle. Weber State University (WSU) – Department of Automotive Technology – Transmission Lab.

Automakers are adding gears to transmissions at a furious rate in their effort to keep internal combustion engines relevant as fuel economy and emissions regulations ratchet up in countries around the world. Honda has gone the rest of the industry one better by filing a patent with the Japanese Patent Office for an 11 speed device that uses three separate clutches to get the job of transmitting power to the driven wheels done with maximum efficiency.

Fans of hatchbacks, rejoice! The much loved Honda Civic hatchback is returning to American showrooms for 2017 after a ten year absence. The new model will be assembled in the UK (assuming Brexit doesn’t kill it) using the same global chassis that underpins the current Civic sedan and coupe.

GM thinks the Volkswagen diesel cheating scandal has left a vacuum in the marketplace — a vacuum it would be only too happy to fill. Speaking at the Center for Automotive Research’s annual Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Michigan last week, Dan Nicholson, GM’s vice president of global propulsion systems, said, “I am very optimistic about the diesel market in the U.S. It has been abandoned by others and we are happy to step in and be the leader. Frankly that’s what we’d like to do.”

The folks at AutoGuide have unearthed a patent for an 11 speed transmission filed by Ford 18 months ago. It uses a combination of clutches, brakes and gears to achieve this mechanical miracle, but will it ever find its way into a production vehicle?

“As a technology leader, we submit patents on innovative ideas as a normal course of business. Patent submissions help protect our new ideas but do not necessarily indicate future business or product plans,” said Ford powertrain spokesman Paul Seredynski in an official statement.

Automatic transmissions with 7 and 8 forward gears are becoming as common as political promises as manufacturers struggle to meet more stringent fuel economy and emissions regulations. Ford itself is rumored to be working on a 10-speed transmission for the upcoming 2017 F-150 Raptor. It has already spent many millions to develop its EcoBoost V-6 to replace the usual (and thirsty) V-8 found under the hood of most standard pickups. That and shaving 700 lbs from the weight of the truck have boosted overall gas mileage for the regular F-150 from 18 to 20 mpg.

As motorists, we love to listen to the sound of our engine as it accelerates through the gears. But the truth is, each internal combustion engine has a “sweet spot” where it generates its most power, most torque or is most fuel efficient. Once you decide what you want the engine to do — give maximum acceleration or return the highest fuel economy — a transmission with lots of gears can keep it in the ideal rev range for the intended purpose.

So why not just use a CVT, or continuously variable transmission? One reason is they are not as reliable as a traditional gearbox. Another is that they aren’t up to towing 10,000 load. And a third reason is a vehicle equipped with a CVT just doesn’t sound right to many drivers. We know Ford could manufacture an 11 speed transmission. The question is, will it?

The 2016 Chevy Spark will be a completely redesigned car, Chevrolet says. Billed as a “city car,” the diminutive Spark will be manufactured in Korea and sold in 40 markets around the world. Profit margins may not be as high as for SUV’s but the Spark will likely be a volume leader for Chevrolet.

“At its core, the new Spark is still the fun, agile urban car that made the first-generation model so popular, but it delivers that fun driving experience with greater sophistication,” said Sam Basile, executive chief engineer. “And while it’s a truly global car, it is targeted for more developed vehicle markets, allowing engineers to focus more precisely on the materials and technologies that resonate with customers in those markets.”

The 2016 Chevy Spark will be 1.6 inches lower for improved aerodynamics and sit on a slightly longer wheelbase. Under the hood will be a new 1.4 liter, 98 horsepower, all aluminum engine which can be mated to either a manual transmission of a CVT. With the continuously variable unit, the car will return 40 miles per gallon in highway driving.

The new engine is 16% more powerful than the one that powers the present version of the car and features an integrated exhaust manifold for reduced weight. Although the Spark slots in at the bottom of the Chevrolet line-up, it will offer some of the same electronic safety features found on more expensive cars, including Side Blind Spot Alert, Lane Departure Warning and Forward Collision Alert. Chevy’s 7 inch color touch screen with MyLink connectivity is also available.

The 2016 Spark will go on sale in the US in the 4th quarter of 2015. The current car has a battery electric powertrain optional. There is no word yet on whether that system will be carried over to the updated car or will be offered solely on the existing car as a separate model.

Continuously Variable Transmissions have a checkered history in America, with some winners but a lot of losers in the early days. Now though, CVTs are becoming more commonplace, and Ford is considering rekindling its relationship with gearless transmissions as a means to improve fuel economy in non-hybrids, reports Automotive News.

Why the change of heart? Two reasons; the growing popularity of CVTs in cars like the Honda Accord Hybrid and Nissan Altima, and the need for an automatic transmission in the Ford Fiesta SFE equipped with the three-cylinder EcoBoost engine. If you want the award-winning three-banger, you can only get it with a manual transmission, and less than 5% of new cars sold in America come with a shift-for-yourself gearbox. It’s no doubt hurting sales of the fuel-sipping Fiesta, and Ford seems ready to give CVTs another try.

Not that Ford totally abandoned gearless transmissions, as all of its hybrid products come standard with a CVT on board. But the last non-hybrid Ford with a CVT was back in 2007, and the low-quality units killed customer enthusiasm for what is in many ways a superior piece of technology.

Those mourning the loss of traditional transmission take heart though, as Ford and GM are working on a nine-speed slushbox for multiple applications, including performance. But CVTs are slowly taking their place, and one day transmissions with gears might be just as rare as manuals.

We’re big fans of the little Mitsubishi Mirage here on Gas 2- both for its fun “B mode” traffic-carving abilities and for its trustworthy MPG ratings. We’re not as enamored with the little Mitsu as the guys at Quality Mitsubishi, however, who wrote this epic response to AutoGuide. I’ve included it in its entirety, below. Enjoy!

5 Reasons Why We Will Survive the Zombie Apocalypse
by Alice D’artagnan and Morgan Evans

Okay, AutoGuide. We saw the title of your article ‘Top 10 Worst Vehicles to Drive in a Zombie Apocalypse’. We got excited to read it. We wanted to share it on our facebook page for some fun Friday content. We clicked to the first car and saw … our beloved Mitsubishi Mirage.

Well, guess what, AutoGuide? We read your reasons. We heard your point of view. And now we’re going to tell you why it’s wrong.

1) You criticized the Mirage’s horsepower. We admit that 74 horsepower and 74 pounds of front end torque doesn’t sound like a lot, but let us put it into perspective for you. The curb weight of an automatic Mirage is 2,053 lbs. If you load that up with you and 4 of your friends (more if you get a little creative), a few boxes of supplies, and a bunch of crossbows to kill errant zombies, you might be able to max out the gross vehicle weight rate of 3,020 lbs. That’s super light. We will have plenty of power to outrun zombies simply because we won’t need very much. A manual Mirage is even lighter and is noticeably more zippy and first. But don’t knock the CVT just yet because…

2) The automatic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission), unlike traditional transmissions, has an infinite series of gears. The Mitsubishi CVT uses a microchip called the INVECS-III that monitors the driving style of the driver and caters the shift points of the CVT to his/her driving style. An aggressive driver–for instance, someone fleeing from an immediate zombie threat–will find that the CVT uses more of the low-end band of the CVT for more front end torque…or more ‘oomph’. However, someone simply trying to make it back to what’s left of civilization after the zombies have been annihilated will use more of the high-end band and get even better gas mileage.

3) Speaking of gas mileage, the 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage is the greenest fully gas-powered vehicle in the United States. That means it gets better gas mileage than any other non-hybrid car out there. Do you really think there are going to be loads of gas stations open and ready to pump gas for your gas-guzzling hot rod, AutoGuide? No. However, on just 9.2 gallons of fuel, the Mirage can go 405 miles on average. Recently, during the Mitsubishi Motors’ Extreme MPG Hypermiling Challenge, a driver from About.com was able to get 74.1 MPG on his trip from Las Vegas to Cypress, CA with only one modification–duct tape over some of the gaps in the front fascia sheet metal as a way to reduce aerodynamic drag. That’s nearly 700 miles on just one tank. So, while everyone else is stranded on a lonely highway in the desert with the undead closing in, we will be well on our way to the coast.

4) And, given that the Mirage is so inexpensive (starting at just $12,995), we’ll still have money left over for a sweet yacht when we get there. Plus, the Mirage is so light, we might as well drive it aboard so that we can drive it back home once this hullabaloo is done and we’ve survived.

5) We will survive, AutoGuide, because in addition to everything we just listed, the Mirage may be small, but it has plenty of ground clearance to get through debris with the nimbleness and stature to successfully navigate zombie hordes without a collision. And if we do hit a snag, the Mirage’s 7 airbag safety system, including one for the driver’s knees, will make sure we survive a zombie-fueled turnover uninjured.

So, knock us all you want, AutoGuide, but just like we did with the people who said Mitsubishi wouldn’t survive in the American market for another year, we will prove you wrong. Heck, we might even stop to give you a ride.

A few weeks ago, Ford announced that its new 2014 Ford Fiesta with a 1.0 liter Ecoboost 3 cylinder engine was the highest MPG car you could buy that wasn’t a hybrid with its 32/45 (37 combined) mpg rating. Almost immediately, the Mitsubishi fan base started grumbling. “Not so fast, Ford!” they said. “Mitsubishi has the highest MPG car you can buy that’s not a hybrid, the Mirage CVT that gets 37/44 (40 combined) mpg.” For the most part, though, a lot of the media guys that I know dismissed the Mitsubishi, with one even saying “Mitsubishi’s not a thing anymore.”

Could that be true? Could it be that the driving force behind the DiamondStar turbos and the 2.2L Dodge Shelbys of the 80s were simply “not a thing anymore”? I didn’t buy it, so I reached out to Mitsubishi and asked to drive one of the new Mirage CVTs- a few days later, a 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage CVT ES in “Infrared” showed up at my door in Oak Park.

My first impressions of the Mirage were largely positive. It’s a cute little car, with much better proportions than the neighbor’s Smart despite the tiny wheels. The Infrared paint, too, was deep and reflective. So far so good, I thought as I looked through the Mitsubishi paperwork- the $15,990 ES PKG included all the usual power this and cruise that, along with ABS, traction control, a CD player, and a few other safety gizmos. It even had a few options (which ticked the price up a bit, of course) like fog lights and a Bluetooth system.

Getting into the highest MPG car in America was easy enough, and I was met with my first happy surprise …

… a starter button.

I know, I know- in 2014 a starter button is nothing to get excited about, but my last exposure to a Mitsubishi was a 2011 Galant. That experience was not positive, so to find a little bit of sporty playfulness in the Mirage gave me some hope. Glancing over at the 140 MPH speedo (see, above) also made me chuckle, since the Mirage, in stock trim, makes just 74 hp from its 1.2 liter non-turbocharged engine.

I was already smiling before I started the car. The little engine buzzed to life and settled into its idle as I adjusted the seats. Nothing special there, but they were significantly more comfortable than, say, the seats in the Sonata Hybrid I drove in Texas. I put the little Mirage in “D”, and puttered off with the wife in the passenger seat.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“Why doesn’t it have a mirror up here?” she asked.

It was a question answered with a question, so I knew the little car was in trouble. Sure enough, there was no mirror in the passenger-side sunshade. “That’s pretty janky,” she said, flipping the sunshade up, dismissively. “You know what happened,” she began. “They had a group of people in a focus group somewhere, and they thought ‘Yeah, I usually drive alone, so I don’t care if there’s a mirror over there’, but that’s the kind of thing that would make me, as a passenger, think it was a cheap car.”

I had to agree with her, and not just because I’m a little afraid of her. I looked at the steering wheel of the Mirage, and I felt like I didn’t need the audio controls. I would have traded those for a mirror on the passenger side. I had a tachometer, too, in a car with a CVT. I’d have traded that for a mirror, too- which reminds me: in D mode, the Mirage is absolutely misrable in-town.

Yeah, no “car guy diplomacy” here. In D, the Mirage CVT “upshifts” too early, is never on boil, and is genuinely bad. There’s a fix, however, and it looks like this:

B mode. In “B” mode, the Mitsubishi keeps its engine right around its 4000 rpm torque peak, and throttle response becomes instantaneous. The effect, on a car this small, light, and otherwise low on power is utterly transformative.

Instead of behaving like a miserable little “econobox”, the Mitsubishi Mirage CVT in B mode behaves like a cartoon turtle with a nest of angry honeybees crammed under its shell. It scoots, too! Driving around town in B mode, I never felt like the Mirage was underpowered- and during Monday evening’s snow dump on Chicago, I got to test the Mirage in snow, on the interstate, in heavy rush hour traffic. I never felt like I was in a cheap car (helped, I’m sure, by the comfortable seat and leather steering wheel/shifter, which were all I touched, for the most part).

After a week of fun, inner-city running about with the little Mirage, I was more than a little sad to see the car go.

“Maybe,” I said. “It kind of depends what we can get out of that engine block.”

“What did you get out of the race car?” she asked, referring to the white DSM drag car me n’ the boys are planning to run next year.

“That’s making about 800 wheel,” I said.

“At least you’ll be able to get it to 140, then,” she said.

That’s true- but will I actually buy one? If I did, I’d go for the lower-end DE version and skip the cruise control and steering-wheel audio buttons, but I’d fight the dealer pretty hard to get the leather wheel and shift knob. I’d get mine in “Kiwi Green”, too, since I decided the Infrared looks like it’s trying way too hard to be an “upscale” color and it plays better with the “bee-ridden turtle” analogy that I came up with earlier … and the fact that I’m even that far along in the process should tell you how much I dug driving the highest MPG car that’s not a hybrid.

What did you think of the Mirage? Have you driven one? Did you like it? Let us- and Mitsubishi!- know, in the comments.

Earlier this week, I found myself sucking down mini beef wellington hors d’oeuvres with Hiroo Shimada, the chief engineer and large project leader of powertrain design at Honda for the last 15 years. Less than 24 hours later, I’d be drinking pink margaritas and shouting at the man to ride a mechanical bull. That’s not what this story’s about (but I’ll get to that). This story is about one of the best-selling hybrid cars in North America, built by the company that made hybrids part of America’s mainstream, and how driving it made me so nauseous that I had to pull over and throw up on the side of the road.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

Honda invited me, along with a number of automotive journalists who had actual media credentials, to San Antonio as part of the brand’s rollout of their innovative new 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid. The event took place at the ultra-swanky Èilan hotel and spa, in San Antonio, Texas, and featured a number of Honda executives with serious-sounding titles and solid car-guy credentials. My driving impressions of the car are embargoed until October 9th, but I can tell you this much: the new Accord Hybrid is vastly different from any other mid-sized hybrid sedan.

In order to drive that point home, Honda brought along just about every other mid-sized hybrid sedan for us to drive. Since I can talk about those- Well, here we are.

To be totally honest, the nausea wasn’t the Camry’s fault. Not totally. In fact, the Camry seemed like a decent enough car to me. Especially at first glance.

See, the Camry Hybrid is a good-looking car. It’s a bit bland, of course, and every gauge and instrument and AC vent screams “conventional”, but it has to be what it is in order to accomplish its mission. That is, to be a non-intrusive, A-to-B form of reliable transportation. An appliance, in other words – and that’s OK.

The interior is nice enough, too, though the Camry Hybrid is a far cry from the more recently updated Toyota Avalon Hybrid I played with back in February. In the Avalon, you wonder why anyone would ever spend more for a Lexus version, for example. In the Camry – nice as it is – you understand it.

As far as driving the Camry goes, it’s OK. Probably better than you’d think. That said, on the twisty roads surrounding the Èilan, with all their elevation and speed changes, the Camry seemed remarkably floaty compared to the other cars I drove. In some corners, it even seemed a bit unsettled. On my first “loop”, I was driving fairly hard in a bid to charge the hybrid’s batteries. On my second loop, I tried to hypermile the car in order to compare its MPG to the new Accord’s. It was on the second loop, driving much more slowly, that the nausea kicked in.

So, what can we draw from that experience? The Camry Hybrid was the last car I drove that day, and it’s probable that a full day of driving on twisty roads, with up/down, left/right, and fore/aft g-forces acting on my stomach for a few hours might be the culprit. Maybe Honda specifically chose that loop to play up the Camry’s shortcomings. Maybe there’s a sport suspension upgrade available from TRD that will cut down on the Camry’s body roll. Maybe it was the breakfast buffet, Whataburger run, chicken piccata lunch, or my body’s immune system rejecting the very notion of hypermiling.

The Frankfurt auto show is usually the beginning of a model year’s auto show season, and this year is no exception with a host of 2014 models being shown for the first time. BMW is starting us off with a bit of 2 wheeled news this morning, having recently announced that the company’s C Evolution electric scooter will be officially available for sale after its September 10th showing at Frankfurt.

The new BMW C Evolution uses the same “energy storage modules” that BMW’s i division is using in their recently announced i3 and i8 machines, so performance is expected to be solid, with final specs (power, range, load capacity, etc.) to be revealed on the 10th. Stay tuned!

BMW C Evolution Photo-gallery

Nissan is looking to broaden its product range with a new hybrid prototype, named the Hi-Cross. The study was unveiled in Geneva, with future production versions meant to reach dealerships under the Juke, Qashqai, and Murano names.

Modify, Modify, Modify

The Hi-Cross based off a highly modified C-Platform (think the X-Trail). The study is 183” long, 73” wide, and 66” tall, but seats seven despite its comparatively compact outside measurements (hey, it’s an SUV – how small do you think it can get?).

The hybrid drive combines a two-liter gasoline engine with an electric motor. Nissan isn’t publishing any technical details, but they do claim that the performance will be comparable to a 2.5 liter engine while using significantly less fuel.

And CVT FTW

The newest generation of Nissan’s CVT transmission, which doesn’t have steps the way traditional gears do. Since it has an infinite number of effective gear ratios allowing the engine to continuously run at the most efficient RPM over pretty much all vehicle speeds, the CVT transmission should serve Nissan well in terms of fuel conservation.

Also assisting the Hi-Cross study – and its descendants – in fuel conservation are the battery packs, taken directly from the Leaf. The Hi-Cross study is able to run over significant distances under battery power alone. Regenerative braking helps extend the battery life as well, improving fuel efficiency further.

Questions or comments? What do you think of the CVT transmission? Let us know in the comments below.

We’ve covered BMW’s new maxi-scooters since they were drawings, on through the prototype stage, and now – finally! – they’re in production, coming to a BMW dealer near you early next year.

It’s no wonder we’re excited about the new BMW maxis. They’re fast, they’re refined, and – offering 50+ mpg fuel economy and more than enough storage space for grocery runs – they’re extremely practical. Compared to the current crop of hybrids, microcars, and high-mpg clean diesels coming from Toyota, Smart, and Chrysler/Fiat (respectively), big scooters like this offer many of the same low-emission “green” benefits, while using significantly fewer natural resources to build and maintain. At the same time, maxi scooters like the C twins from BMW and the recently introduced Integra from Honda deliver performance the green cars can’t match.

It’s a bit like having your cake and nachos too, right? Right! So, with that in mind let’s take a look at what BMW hath wrought.

BMW C 650 GT transmission cutaway.

The BMW C650 GT and C600 Sport are both powered by the same 647 cc inline-twin, which puts 60 hp and nearly 50 lb-ft of torque through a super-efficient, continuously variable transmission (CVT, above) which hols the engine at the rpm where it’s achieving its maximum torque output (“peak efficiency”, in other words) and varies gear ratios around it, instead of the other way around like in the conventional (read: “century old”) manual transmission’s design.

BMW C 650 GT sport-touring scooter.

The C650 GT (above) is built for city commuting, but makes concessions for long-distance touring riders in the form of a cushy seat and electrically-adjustable front windscreen. Compared to the C600 Sport, the C650 GT also offers significantly greater cargo capacity and a larger pillion (rear passenger) seat, as well.

The C600 Sport (below) makes use of the same engine and drivetrain as the C650 (the “smaller” number in the C600 Sport’s name – as in BMW’s road cars – seems to describe its slightly smaller overall size compared to the C650 GT), but is geared towards a more sporting experience for the rider. There is less rear mass, less storage space (more on that in a minute), and less weather protection from a smaller front fairing (which should cut frontal area nicely, compared to the C650 GT, and lead to better mid-range acceleration).

BMW C 600 Sport scooter.

BMW C 600 Sport FlexCase.

One more thing that begs to be pointed out on the C 600 Sport (in addition to the speed, power, and overall sexiness of the C Sport) is the bike’s innovative solution to increasing storage capacity while maintaining a high-tail, “sporty” look. BMW calls it “FlexCase”, and describes it in the C600’s press release as follows:

The FlexCase for the C600 Sport is an innovative storage space concept. A flap in the tail base under the seat enlarges the storage space on the stationary vehicle. This can be used e.g. to hold two helmets.

If you’ve ever struggled with trying to find places to store bags and helmets when you’re riding 2-up on a sporty two-wheeler, you’ll IMMEDIATELY appreciate the FlexCase’s innovatitivity (I just made that word up).

You can check it out for yourself, at right.

BMW has a huge gallery of scooter photos at its BMW Motorcycle Magazine website, but I’ve pulled (what I think are) the best of the best and put them into a bit of a “highlight” gallery, below.

Hybrid flywheel energy storage got off to a bit of a shaky start in Formula 1 back in 2009, but the technology is gaining ground outside the motorsports arena in production cars, utility companies, and – now – it’s found its way into bicycles!

The bike you see here has been rigged up with a 15 lb. automotive flywheel that’s mated to a CVT, which allows the rear wheel to transfer kinetic energy to the flywheel under “braking”, effectively slowing the bike down. Once the cyclist is ready to pick up speed again, the CVT is shifted the other way, and the spinning mass of the flywheel “boosts” the rider’s legs and provides forward motion – just like the flywheel KERS systems proposed by Williams F1 (which provides flywheel hybrid tech to Porsche) and Volvo.

It’s a great concept that, once seen, is easy to understand. Check out some close-up schematics and installation photos (below), and see for yourself!

Maxwell von Stein, a student at New York City’s Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, built the bike as part of his senior design project – and his end result is so simple in execution and concept that I’m surprised there aren’t any retail-ready flywheel hybrid bikes running around city streets today! Until I can pop in to the local bike shop and drop some coinage on one, however, I’ll have to be content to stack Max’s flywheel bike on top of all the other “Why didn’t I think of that!” great ideas, social initiatives, and outright publicity stunts surrounding bike commuting these days … and, of course, hope that Max got an “A +” on the project.

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The content produced by this site is for entertainment purposes only. Opinions and comments published on this site may not be sanctioned by, and do not necessarily represent the views of Sustainable Enterprises Media, Inc., its owners, sponsors, affiliates, or subsidiaries.

The content produced by this site is for entertainment purposes only. Opinions and comments published on this site may not be sanctioned by, and do not necessarily represent the views of Sustainable Enterprises Media, Inc., its owners, sponsors, affiliates, or subsidiaries.